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Nassar survivors to urge support for sexual misconduct legislation

Survivors of Larry Nassar will call on California lawmakers to support legislation that would require doctors placed on probation for sexual misconduct and other misconduct to notify patients.

2000 Olympic bronze medalist Jamie Dantzscher and former Michigan State University softball player Tiffany-Thomas Lopez will appear with California lawmakers Tuesday before a committee votes on the legislation.

The Patient's Right to Know Act of 2018, would make California the first state to require that doctors on probation in connection with sexual misconduct and other serious professional misconduct notify their patients of that status and disclose basic details of their terms of probation and any conditions placed on their practice.

The requirement would apply to physicians, surgeons, osteopaths, naturopathic doctors, chiropractors, podiatrists and acupuncturists who are placed on administrative probation by regulators on or after July 1, 2019.

Doctors are already required to report their probationary status to their insurers and to hospitals and clinics they work with. Patients are not informed. Their only way of knowing requires them to take the initiative to periodically check on their doctor's license status - provided they have a computer and internet access and sift through any legal documents available online.

"Patients have been kept in the dark far too long," said Senator Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo. "They have a right to know whether their doctor is on probation for a serious offense, so they can make informed decisions about their medical care."

The legislation must clear the Assembly Business and Professions Committee in order to advance to the full California Senate.